Air Quality Tips and Training Available for Families and Educators
To better protect adults and children during air quality alerts, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and Environmental Health Capacity (EHC) Program are offering tips and training to help families and children stay healthy.
About Air Quality Dangers & Alerts
Current weather patterns are pushing smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada into communities across the Commonwealth, increasing the average concentrations of fine particulate matter in the air.
Air quality can affect your health, especially people who may be at greater risk, including:
people with heart disease
people with lung disease (including asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD])
older adults
children and teenagers (because their lungs are still developing, and they breathe more air relative to their size)
people who are pregnant
people who work outdoors
If you experience symptoms like trouble breathing or dizziness, you should seek medical attention. If you know a family member or neighbor who has one of the above conditions, remember to check in on them.
Tips from DHS
During air quality alerts, all Pennsylvanians should:
avoid strenuous outdoor activities
keep outdoor activities short
consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them
Additionally, to help keep particle pollution lower indoors during air quality alerts:
don’t use candles or smoke indoors
keep windows and doors closed
use an air filter in your home, if you have one
clean or replace filters according to manufacturer recommendations
make your own portable air cleaner, if you don't have one (the EPA offers DIY information on how to do so)
Training from the EHC Program
The EHC Program invites child care professionals to participate in a short nano learning course on air quality.
About the EHC Program
The EHC Program is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded program under the Division of Environmental Health Epidemiology (DEHE) with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. EHC seeks to provide outreach and education on topics related to children’s environmental health.
About the Learning Course on Air Quality
The nano learning course should take a few minutes minutes to complete and provides an overview of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Quality Index (AQI) is, why it is important, and how it can be included in your classroom plans and activities.
After completing the training, please complete a survey to inform future outreach efforts to childcare providers. The survey is a total of four questions. If you have comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact the EHC Program at dehe@pa.gov.
Access the Learning Course on Air Quality
Interested ECE educators can access the EHC Program learning course on air quality on YouTube.
Resources to Support the Course
Resources to support the learning course include:
Learn More
Visit www.airnow.gov to find the latest air quality levels and recommendations for your location.
To learn more, visit the Pennsylvania Key Tips or Pennsylvania Key Training webpages.